“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it.” - Proverbs 22:6
This verse is something my parents, grade school teachers, and high school teachers were set on. After attending Christian schools until the day I graduated high school, as well as growing up in a very much Christian family, I haven’t turned from what I learned, but I definitely see things another way, and I feel the relationship I have with my spirituality is different than that of my parents and teachers.
A lot of what we learned in school centered around going to church every week, saying your prayers before and/or after meals and before bed, sharing your faith with those you meet or know, being involved with your church, as well as following strictly the Commandments and all principles you learned in church. These are all things my parents and teachers found very important, but things that may or may not be as important to me, and I wasn't just true for me but for many of my classmates, as well.
Some things we learned seemed contradicting, or they were things we didn’t agree with; topics like “sharing the truth in love”, but then being told praying with someone of another religion, some not all that different from our own, was wrong, and it is things like this which led me to really look at the relationship I have with my faith.
I hold my personal relationship with my Lord closest. I find myself saying small prayers throughout my day; a quick thank you for something as minute as catching a green light on my way to work or other for everything He blessed me with. Asking for strength, help, guidance, and wisdom in a situation I deal with, asking the same for others, or whatever else happens to be relevant that day.
Yet, I find myself sharing my faith in less obvious ways. I try to let it show in my actions and words, rather than a flat out pitch for a religion – though that may also sprout from my introverted side. I find myself drawn to loving part of my faith, as well. So many places throughout the Bible mention love as one of the greatest things this life has, and it is a consistent theme; the greatest example shows in God’s love for us as His beautiful creations.
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” - 1 Corinthians 13:13
(Read the rest of the chapter here. It's one of my very favorite passages.)
Through my relationships with those closest to me, I see what His unconditional love really means, and since knowing it better, I want to share that with others all the more. That love is something everyone should know, I do what I can to show it in myself, and from there, I tell them where I knew it first.
For me, my faith is my personal relationship with my Lord and doing what I can to project His love for us into the world. These things are what make me feel closest to Him and what I find to be important as I grow in my faith. Though it may differ from the relationship others have or from what I grew up with, it is my faith, and it shows me the amazing and unconditional love He has for me.
